42 U.S.C. § 13334 — Nonfuel use of coal

(a) Program: The Secretary must prepare a plan for, and carry out, research, development, demonstration, and commercial-use programs for nonfuel uses of coal. These include: (1) making coke and other carbon products from coal; (2) making coal-derived chemical intermediates — the coal-based building blocks used to create more valuable chemicals and plastics; (3) making chemicals from synthesis gas derived from coal; (4) treating coal, including solvent-extraction methods, to make low-ash, low-sulfur, coal-based chemical feedstocks; and (5) using coal waste, including recovering, processing, and selling products made from sulfur, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and ash left over from coal. (b) Plan contents: The plan from subsection (a) must address and evaluate: (1) the known and possible ways to use coal to make products for the chemical, utility, fuel, and carbon-material industries; (2) the costs, benefits, and economic practicality of using coal products in the chemical and materials industries, including value-added chemicals, carbon-based products, coke, and coal waste; (3) the economics of making these products alongside electricity, heat, and fuel; (4) the economics of refining coal and coal byproducts into nonfuel products; (5) how using coal compares economically with other raw materials used for the same purposes; (6) the steps government and industry can take to bring these technologies to market; and (7) the past development, current state, and future potential of coal products and processes for nonfuel uses.